Mum of three overwhelmed by NI public after giving her fighting chance to watch her children grow up after devastating cancer diagnosis
Last updated 11th May 2021
A young mother has been blown away by the generosity of the public, after pleading for help to prolong her life after a second cancer diagnosis.
Jemma McGowan, 27, is facing her second battle with cancer, but she has been told by doctors in Northern Ireland that there is no surgery they can offer her.
The mother of three children under the age of 5 says she was told to ‘go home and get her affairs in order’ as she may only have one year to live.
After receiving the news, Jemma started a go fund me page to raise enough funds to travel to Mexico for alternative treatment to prolong her life.
In just 10 hours, she reached her £70,000 target and is planning her life saving trip.
She says it's overwhelming.
"I need to thank everyone that has donated, sent messages of encouragement and their own stories.
"My family and I have now been blessed with the opportunity to get me the chance to be here to see my babies grow up, this is the miracle we have been praying for."
Jemma's story
Jemma's battle with cancer began in 2016, when she was pregnant with her first child.
She said "When I was pregnant with our first baby (Sadie) I had stage 1 ovarian cancer removed surgically when I was 17 weeks pregnant. I was told it was a very rare cancer, low grade, not known to spread or become aggressive.
"My consultant removed my left ovary, fallopian tube and the “Basaloid Carcenoma Brenners tumour.”
"We never looked behind us, Sadie was born in December 2016 and I was very healthy and happy with no symptoms of cancer and all clear with bloods results and scans since.
"I went on to get married to my amazing husband Clive, and we had another little baby (Louis). He was born in November 2020."
However, Jemma found a lump when she was pregnant with her third child at 35 weeks.
"It was agreed that I should get booked in early and for a planned procedure instead of waiting for a natural birth due to the placement of the lump. Betty was then delivered by C-Section and the growth removed for Biopsy on the 25th January 2021.
"The next day, I was sent for a full body CT scan where the results then showed a tumour in my left lung as well as three on my pelvic bones.
"On the 9th February we had our meeting with the Oncologist in Belfast and they confirmed my diagnosis of Advanced Stage 4 Incurable Ovarian Cancer . My Cancer is acting very unusually and aggressively and has no documented cases reported in the Medical Journals, which makes it difficult for my Oncology team to know exactly the best course of treatment or a prognosis of how treatment will react with the tumours so it is a trial and error sort of process, which I’m really struggling to accept.
"Since then, I have received 3 very intense rounds of two different types of chemotherapy in Belfast. The 3 rounds of chemo have been physically, mentally and emotionally the toughest 12 weeks of my life to date. I have got up every morning and with the help of my family around me, have got my little girl to school and looked after my other 2 babies. They have been my life line as I battled through each round of chemo with them in the front of my mind keeping me fighting.
"We had a meeting with the oncologist in Belfast to review my latest CT results. They have confirmed my worst nightmare that there are new tumours in the pelvic area and pubic bone.
"The lung tumour has shrunk slightly which has given me hope that the tumours can be reduced in size in order to prolong my life.
"So on these grounds, Belfast oncologist team have decided to stop my chemotherapy for now.
"We have been advised to get our affairs in order and been told it is reasonable to believe I have only ONE year to live ... How can I be expected to accept that? I simply can't accept it because I have 3 small children, Sadie is 4, Louis is 1 and Betty is only 15 weeks.
"I am such a positive person, I live for my family and I have such a zest for life. I NEED to be here to see my wee babies grow up and to be their mummy."